Preview

Tupac Shakur

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
695 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tupac Shakur
"Murda, Murda, Murda, and Kill, Kill, Kill…", these are the lyrics to one of the songs written by Tupac Shakur. Amidst all the controversy surrounding his personal life, this artist has managed to overcome all obstacles and spread his hope/hate message to a surprisingly receptive audience. Tupac's music borrowed from the styles of early rap and hip-hop yet its appeal rested in Tupac himself. His persona of "Thug Poet" opened up a portal into the new genre of "Gangsta Rap." This new style of music revolutionized the music industry and allowed several new artists to break through in Tupac's creation, Gangsta Rap.

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 in New York. Afeni Shakur, a Black Panther member since 1968, gave birth to him in the Women's House of Detentions in Grenwich Village. She was charged with conspiracy to bomb several New York public locations and had just had her bail revoked. In Incan dialect, his name Tupac Amaru means "shining serpent" and Shakur is Arabic for "thankful to God." For most of his childhood his crack-addicted mother shuffled Tupac between the ghettos of Harlem and the Bronx. Young Tupac began his performance career with the 127th Street Ensemble and then enrolled Baltimore School for the Arts where he was educated in ballet and acting. Tupac was forced to drop out of the school and move to California where his criminal career began. Tupac began selling drugs and had several altercations with the law including several shooting and the unexplained death of two off-duty officers. Tupac's music continued to excel until his untimely death on September 7, 1996.

The artistic ability and musical talent weren't enough to get by with; it took a shtick that was "true". There was no candy coating or a softer side to this "straight from the projects" thug. Tupac rapped about what he knew, and he knew the street life. In and out of jail/prison

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    2pac Death

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Tupac Shakur was born Tupac Amaru Shakur (Tupac means "shining serpent" in Inca) in New York City in 1971. He went on to have very successful careers as an actor & rapper. Look around the web for his career information, you know that’s not our gig. That said….…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac, or 2Pac was an African-American rapper who had sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and was considered a hip-hop legend throughout his career. He was born on June 13th, 1971 and died a very tragic death on September 13th, 1996 . His death caused much sparkness to occur as of who it was that killed him, not of how he died. A lot of factors played in during his death, and considering the complexity of the murder, it was hard to tell if the death had been staged, or if it was all an act. Although, considering the circumstances, rivalries, and suspicions it can be concluded that Tupac Shakur was killed by the Crips gang, and that he isn’t alive in spite of the rumor that states that Tupac is still alive, or that his boss Suge Knight killed him.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Biggie vs Tupac

    • 1711 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I had watched a documentary, based off of the infamous rappers and their start up in the music industry, titled Tupac and Biggie where I got information on both sides. To begin with both rappers had similar upbringing for instance, were born in the state of New York, Tupac in Harlem and Biggie in Brooklyn. However, Tupac did move around growing up to Baltimore, Maryland in 1984 and finally to Oakland, California in 1988 by the age of 17. Biggie had more of an interesting beginning, unlike his soon to be rival, he had been raised by a single mother who was a teacher and had lived in a 3 bedroom apartment, not how he claimed on his song ‘Juice’ as a “one-room shack”. Meanwhile, Tupac was also raised by a single mother, however had been a part of the anti-government group the Black Panther Party, which would later be a foundation to his rap verses on political stans. Like most rappers they both would have a rough upbringing, and Biggie would start drug dealing at the age of 14 to help support his family, till discovered musically. Interestingly enough, Tupac had an interest in acting and attended performing art schools and create his passion for poetry, turned later to rap rhymes. Tupac was the…

    • 1711 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Rhetorical Analysis

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The controlling message in Tupac’s rhymes was the strength of the black man and the inability of his will to be broken. Tupac having been involved in gangs and drug pedaling as a young man knew the temptations of such actions and hated that his race was subjected to…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Shakur’s lived on Greenmount Ave. in East Baltimore. There, Tupac was teased because of his looks, name, and lack of trendy clothing. It was is in Baltimore, Tupac was accepted to the Baltimore School for the Arts. It was here he began to thrive and enjoy his classes. Classes like studying theater, ballet, and other arts. It was at this point Shakur became acquainted and close friends with fellow classmate Jada Pinkett. Despite his age, Shakur was blunt on the subject of racial equality. His teachers remembered him as being a very gifted student. He was an avid reader, delving into books on eastern religions, and even entire encyclopedia sets. Hiding his love of literature from his peers, he gained the respect of his peers by acting like a tough guy. Shakur composed his first rap in Baltimore under the name “MC New York”. The song was about gun control and was inspired by the fatal shooting of one of his close friends. Two years later, a drug-addicted Afeni was having trouble finding work. She moved the family again to live with a family friend in Marin City, California. Tupac described this period as “where I got off track”. He showed disdain for law enforcement, being hassled occasionally for playing music loudly. In August of 1988, Shakur’s stepfather Mutulu was sentenced to sixty years in prison for armed robbery after being on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for several years. Shakur…

    • 3110 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    tupac shakur

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Birth name lesane parish crooks was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City .He was named after Tupac Amaru, an 18th-century South American revolutionary who was executed after leading an indigenous uprising against Spanish rule. His mother, afeni Shakur and his father, William Garland, were active members of the Black Panther party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Shakur was born a month after his mother was acquitted of more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the united states grovement and New York landmarks" in the New York "Panther 21" court case.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    2pac Bio

    • 2242 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Tupac mother’s name is Alice Faye Williams (later called Afeni Shakur), she was one of the leaders of The Black Panther Party, and she joined it in 1968. she was a revolutionist who used to defend the black people. In the Black Panther party she organized community improvement programs. On 1969 she was arrested and jailed for 11 months accused by trying to conspire on the American government. She was asked to pay 100,000 bail to be freed but later they decided to cancel it due to fear of flight and she returned to prison pregnant with her child tupac. Tupac relation with his mother when she was in the Black Panther party was not that strong, as his mother was busy worrying…

    • 2242 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac had sold over 75 million records worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. Tupac was different from Biggie with music because of how he talked about racism, social problems, and hardship in inner cities violence. Before he became a well know rap artist he was roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the hip-hop group Digital Underground. Another difference was Tupac’s music career really began once he made his first solo album “2Pacalypse now” after that album and many more he then came out with his own rap group called “Thug Life”. Once the group released their only album “Thug Life: Volume 1” Tupac later got introduce to Suge Knight, who then played a big role into Tupac music…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    ”I wanted to be a revolutionary.” said a young Tupac Shakur. From the earliest age, Tupac wanted greatness and nothing less. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born June 16, 1971 at New York University Hospital. His name, Tupac Amaru was an Inca name meaning “Shining Serpent” and Shakur meant “Thankful to God”. Tupac’s…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Was Tupac A Hero

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Tupac’s music plays a big role in pop culture. His music was heard by millions of people, and have moved many. The music he wrote and the things he would rap about was the real things. He never “sugar coated” his life growing up. In his music he talks about…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being born on May 21st, 1972, Biggie was caught in the middle of racial violence, gang wars, and a lifestyle that most people can’t relate to. At the age of fifteen, Biggie was selling crack on the streets of Brooklyn, being better known for dealing drugs than making rhymes. This part in Biggie’s life greatly influenced who he became, a world renowned rapper. His career started in basements and street corners around town, freestyling to his peers and neighborhood friends. People knew biggie as the street corner thug who could spit a rap when he wanted, and about what he wanted. His talent was nothing to overlook, he started rapping with the “Gold Brothers” and the “Techniques”, who ended up introducing Biggie to his first recording studio. At the age of 17 Biggie had dropped out of school, despite showing potential. The idea of money and power was too large to give up. He spent nine months in jail for drug charges, writing and preparing for his time in the lime light. Ounce he was released, he started to put together mix tapes, which bounced from source to source, causing Biggie’s name to gain publicity. Biggie’s first solo song, “Party and Bullshit” was featured in the film Who’s the Man? Not long after Biggie started to gain fame, music producer “Puffy”, or Sean Combs started to take interest, and began to record and produce for Biggie. In 1994 Biggie released his first album, “Ready to Die”, which exploded in the rap industry. Biggie had gone from hustling drugs on the corner in 1990, to being the “top-selling rap artist” in 1995 as MTV puts it. Things were looking up for biggie, until his fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive by shooting. Tupac’s followers blamed Biggie and his crew, who denied any affiliation. Seven months later, Biggie was killed in a drive by shooting. Many believe the perpetrators belonged to Tupac’s crew, or a number of…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Changes Tupac Analysis

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Rap music effectively shows the conditions of the "hood" and helps to open the eyes of the listeners that life for everyone isn't easy and worry-free. In the song "Changes" by Tupac Shakur, the rapper illustrates an image of the common inner-city urban street. In his lyrics, Shakur describes a scene where white and blacks are enemies, and crack sellers are around every corner. Yet, even though these lyrics talk about the violence in the streets, it talks about needing to make a change within the society. Shakur raps "We need to make changes, Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers. And dats how it's supposed to be. How can the devil take a brother if he's close to me, uh, I love to go back to when we played as kids, but things change, and that's the way it is." In the previous lyrics Tupac is encouraging peace within the community. He is encouraging whites and blacks to see each other more as individuals rather than two different enemies, but in the end he says that is just the way the life is (filled with hatred). The ability that the rap and hip-hop genre has to expose how life really is in the ghetto not only can promote change, but it helps to show people of all socioeconomic backgrounds that life everywhere isn't truly kosher. Many of the rap lyrics composed by various artists focus on the neighborhoods that they live in, not generally depicting masculine views, but talking about how harsh urban life really…

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sociology

    • 3041 Words
    • 13 Pages

    > The sociological perspective is described as seeing the general in the particular. In this essay I will attempt to apply the sociological perspective to analyze song lyrics from the first verse of the song My Block by Tupac Shakur (see appendix for lyrics). Tupac (1971-1996) is the most famous gangster rap artist of all times. He was well known for his lyrics and their ability to express the grief of the Black community. He was an advocate for Black rights and very much against the societal system and class societies. Many say he exaggerated the conditions under which the Black community and the lower class were in because he was a wealthy man rapping about suppression. To other’s he was part of the petite-bourgeoisie, but he was consistent in attempting to better the conditions under which the lower class were in.…

    • 3041 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Shakur is considered an rap icon. Some may say he is the MJ to the rap game. He didn’t just make music he made common situation into a song that everyone can bob their head to. Many artist say that they were influenced to rap because of Tupac such as Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and so many more. Tupac’s mother (Afeni Shakur) was a single parent and she tried her best trying to make their childhood a great one. He thanked his mom for her effort in the song ‘Dear Mama‘. He may have been known to many people as an “Gangster” or “Thug”, but he also touched on issues that were going on at that moment of time. ‘Keep ya head up’ by 2pac was an anthem for women who were raising children on their own during the hard times during the 90’s, especially…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early days of hip hop, rappers primarily speak of their struggles in life. Several factors lead to the popularity and wide spread of hip hop, primarily the fact that many people could relate to the lyrics. Being brought up in a community where it’s generation after generation of poverty, lyricists rap about their drug use, troubles with police, and their inability to leave the vicious cycle. A prime example would be "2pac Shakurs changes".…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics